


Team CENM and the World of Ternnam

by MusingsFromMars



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't copy to another site, Evil Team RWBY, F/F, GNC Woman Cinder, Good Cinder Fall, More Ships to come, Multi, Team CENM, more tags to come, some real edgy shit to come in future chapters which will warrent more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23953636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusingsFromMars/pseuds/MusingsFromMars
Summary: Team CENM (Cinnamon), comprised of Cinder, Emerald, Neo, and Mercury forms at Beacon Academy and are soon embroiled in a bitter feud with the evil quartet known as RWBY over their pursuit of the rogue Fall Maiden, Amber. With the heroes guided by Salem, headmaster of Beacon, and the villains lead by the enigmatic thousand-times reincarnated Ozpin, the ultimate clash over the fate of the world unfolds.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Team CENM and the World of Ternnam

**Author's Note:**

> A note for this chapter: Cinder's portion of the prologue contains some material that might border on triggering for some, such as implied misgendering and abuse/bullying. If you don't want to see that, skip to the bold heading "The Streets of Vale."

**Signal Academy**

Well, today was the day. After a long, difficult struggle, Cinder had finally achieved her ultimate goal—getting the hell out of this school.

The training sessions were fun. The classes were tolerable. The food was edible. But what Cinder would miss least were all of these... _people._

She hated almost every single person who attended or taught at Signal. Even her own friends. Well..."friends." She never trusted them much, mainly because they had a history of using her. She used to feel like the ringleader of her own posse of friends, but as she eventually figured out, she was just their ticket to better things, and they left her behind like a stepping stone. Some used her influence to get dates (sometimes from people she was seeing in the first place), used her to cheat on assignments, or just were all around dishonest about liking her in the first place.

Now that graduation day had arrived, she could give this place and all its students one last _fuck you_ as she made her way to Beacon Academy (hopefully).

Of course, as her luck would have it, those same students were planning to give her one last _fuck you_ in return.

The ceremony was blessedly short. She hated wearing her black graduation gown, and though she enjoyed designing her cap to match her black and gold eye patch, nothing else about the pageantry was very fun. When she left the auditorium, she immediately took her gown off and threw it in a bin, leaving her in a tank top and shorts. She knew she was supposed to wear something more formal under her graduation garb but couldn't even be half-assed to do so. Her diploma was wrapped in a ribbon and stuffed beneath her waistband.

She was on her way to the bus stop to ride back to her home, but as she walked along the marble wall of the school building, she heard approaching footsteps from behind, as well as a familiar voice. "Hey, cyclops."

Cinder stopped in her tracks and groaned. "Okay, seriously. Come up with a better nickname." She turned around to meet the eyes of Paisley, a blonde-haired, green eyed girl who used to sit next to Cinder in Dust Theory class. Now she sat next to literally every other person who had ever stabbed Cinder in the back.

"You know, I was thinking about something," Paisley said, her voice as perky as her dimpled cheeks as she flashed her sickening smile. "I've never seen what it looks like under your eye patch. Can I look?"

Cinder grimaced and shook her head. "If this is some sort of game, I'm not interested in playing."

"But I really want to see, Cindy. Please?"

Cinder hated this girl already, but the fact that she seemed so proud of being Cinder's complete opposite pissed her off even more. While Cinder had short black hair, no makeup and no care in the world regarding her clothing, Paisley, with her long blonde hair and perfectly matched outfits seemed to be a perfect, constant reminder to Cinder that she was different, and therefore less than. She wanted to be able to say she didn't care, but she really did. "Leave me alone. I'm finally free from this damn school and I'm not planning on hanging arou—" Cutting her off was an arm suddenly wrapping around her neck, jerking her backwards. She yelled and felt her throat constrict as she felt another hand on her face, covering her good eye. "What..." She choked. "The hell..."

"She said please," the guy holding her back groused with pride. Andris. Paisley's boyfriend and Cinder's "ex" (She had retroactively reclassified their past relationship from "dating" to "the period of time Cinder had two assholes permanently attached to her").

Cinder fought against his grasp but could not shake free. "Let go! I'll burn you two alive!"

"You know what the authorities would do if you used your Semblance out of turn _again,_ don't you?" Paisley asked. Cinder couldn't see her but she could almost _hear_ her smug expression.

Cinder gritted her teeth in frustration, knowing well of her past fiery outbursts that had landed her in detention, and then suspension, and on one occasion, a jail cell. hence why she was a year older than her fellow graduates; her time in juvenile detention set her back a year. She knew she couldn't have a repeat performance of that, because that would land her in jail again, and as her father had warned her, he wouldn't be able to afford to bail her out.

"We just want a little peek," Paisley chuckled. "I've always been curious."

"What do..." Cinder coughed, still trying to fight off Andris' grip on her. "What do you expect to see?" Andris finally uncovered her good eye so she could see Paisley stepping closer, reaching a hand toward her. "Back off!" Cinder yelled, beginning to feel desperate.

"Calm down, Cinder," Paisley told her, no longer smiling. "After all the shit I've put up with being around you, you don't think you deserve a little parting gift? Seriously."

"You used me," Cinder countered. "You have a victim complex. The only reason you ever hung around me was because you wanted to be popular, like me."

"Popular? You sound like a child!" Paisley declared. "People were scared of you because of how dangerous you are. No one was brave enough to tell you to your face how much of a psycho asshole you are. I hung around you because no one would mess with me if I were with you, but as soon as I found out how much of an insecure baby you were, I couldn't take it anymore. I mean..." She gestured toward Cinder's body. "Look at you! What even are you? Don't people like you call themselves something other than 'female'?"

"I am not a psycho!" Cinder defended. "I was defending myself, and I _am_ a—"

"You put people in the fucking hospital," Paisley cut her off, then placed her hand on Cinder's forehead to hold her still. "All because you're desperate for people to think you're strong and untouchable. Well guess what, cyclops," She grabbed Cinder's eye patch, and with one swift tug, ripped it from her face. "All you are now is weak and alone."

Cinder yelled and put her hands to her face to hide her scar. With her face fully exposed, _Cinder_ felt all too exposed. Andris let her go, and she fell to her knees, both hands pressed to the left side of her face.

Paisley gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Have a good life, freak. Make good friends with a Grimm at Beacon, will ya?" And then she left her there, leaving with Andris.

Cinder began to cry, which only served to hurt her bad eye, which made her cry more, which made her chest ache. She pressed her forehead to the ground and gritted her teeth. "Damnit..." She coughed. "Gods...damnit..."

She made a vow that night. She would never open herself up to anyone, ever. Because everything Paisley said was bullshit. Cinder would look out for herself now, _do_ whatever the hell she wanted, _look_ however she wanted, _be_ whatever she wanted. And one day, she'd become the greatest Huntress ever, just to show her former classmates how dead wrong they all were.

* * *

**The Streets of Vale**

Neo had been running for long enough.

She sat down on a bench by the road and stared off into space, shocked by what she had learned, and shocked by what she had done in response.

 _How could he...work with people like_ them _?_

That man in the mask. Roman had introduced him as their new business partner. Adam Taurus. But the man's ideas, his _plans_...how could Roman be on board with any of it. All the people they would hurt, the problems they would cause...How could he work with the White Fang?

She had to fight her way past several armed White Fang members to escape. She had gotten past them easily. Now, here she was, wondering if she had made a mistake.

 _Why, Roman..._ She put her hands to her face, and she began to cry. _Why..._

Once again, she was alone.

Once again, she had to run away from something terrifying.

 _I don't want to go through this_ _anymore_...

It was the middle of the night, so when Neo heard a car approaching from up the street, she felt worried. Who could be out here at this time of night and not have bad intentions? She considered getting up and finding a place to hide from the passing car, but didn't feel up for exerting the energy. If the car did stop nearby, she could fight.

The car stopped.

Neo wiped her face and stood up, not seeing clearly due to the tears in her eyes, but she shifted into a defensive stance and waited for someone to exit the car.

Someone did, from the passenger's side, but instead of coming at her, she lifted her hands over her head. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She wasn't a White Fang member. Neo didn't recognize the tall woman (though most people were "tall" to Neo), and her jacket and dress pants gave off the impression that this was not a passing criminal looking to mug people and break into shops. She wore a pair of square glasses and had her blonde hair up in a bun.

"What is you're name?" The woman asked, hands still above her head to show she was not a threat to her.

Neo shook her head and tapped her finger on her throat.

"I see," the woman nodded, then her hands began to lower. Neo stepped back, clenching her hands into fists. The woman extended an open hand toward her. "I will not hurt you. I just want to talk to you."

Neo shook her head, confused as to why a woman who had randomly found her on a city bench would want to converse. She stepped back a little further.

"My name is Salem," the woman introduced herself. "I am the headmaster at Beacon Academy, and it is my understanding that..." she sighed. "You are the criminal known as Neopolitan."

Neo was _this_ close to running away.

"Please, I am not here to arrest you." Salem shook her head. "I want to help you. Whatever you have been through, whatever led you to assault several members of the White Fang, you deserve better. Please," she extended her hand to her, offering a hand shake. "I want to help you."

**Vale Police Department**

This was familiar. The empty room, the harsh fluorescent lighting, the metal table and cold chair. Emerald had been here once or twice before, mostly getting stern talking-tos and slaps on the wrist, but this time would likely be different. Emerald had gone too far this time.

"An old lady?" The officer said, leaning on the table. Her name was Zara, a tall, tough-looking cop with short black hair and a dark complexion. She knew Emerald by name, which wasn't a good thing. "You stole...from an old lady..."

Emerald sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I needed money." Her usual excuse.

"You gave her a heart attack," Zara continued.

Emerald sighed, looking to the side. "I didn't mean to give her a heart attack." She had used her Semblance to conjure a massive Grimm in the old woman's mind. Emerald had thought that she had scared the woman just enough to drop her purse and run away, but when she later heard ambulance sirens soon after, she knew something went wrong, and she felt terrible. "Is she okay?"

"Recovering at the hospital," Zara answered. "We're going to let her family know that it was a person's mentally invasive Semblance which caused her to see things, that way they don't think she's crazy."

Emerald nodded, relieved to know she hadn't killed someone. "Can you tell her I'm sorry?"

"Emerald, I feel for you, but you're an idiot."

"I deserve that," Emerald nodded.

"Honey," Zara continued, putting a hand on Emerald's shoulder. "You know I feel for you, but this cannot continue."

Emerald nodded. "I'll stop."

"Little one, if I weren't a cop, you'd take this ring right off my damn finger," she held her hand up, showing off her wedding ring (would probably fetch a nice tab at a pawn shop). "And then you'd give my wife a heart attack, too."

"I can...get a job?" Emerald shrugged.

"You're going to jail, sweetie."

"Oof," Emerald grumbled, looking down. Her gut sank, and she felt like puking.

"Oof indeed, little one." Zara paced away a little and sighed, staring at the wall for a moment. "Unless..."

Emerald glanced her way. "Unless what?"

"There's someone here to see you," she said.

Emerald sat up a bit straighter in her seat. "Who?"

Zara looked her way. "The headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Emerald shook her head and laughed. "Why wold the headmaster of Beacon want to talk to me?"

"Because just like me," Zara said. "She don't want you going to jail, little one." She made her way over to the door. "She'll be in here in a bit. I have a murder case to finalize."

"That one assassin murder case?" Emerald asked. She kept up with some of their cases since she was in here so often. This case in particular was especially interesting, with her "insider knowledge" and the news coverage combined.

"Yeah." Zara chuckled. "Don't tell anyone I told you, but we know who killed Marcus Black."

"Who?" Emerald asked.

"That, I can't legally tell you." With that, she opened the door and left. Before the door closed, someone caught it, and in stepped...

"Miss Sustrai," said the woman, presumably the aforementioned headmaster. "I am Professor Salem Elphia of Beacon. I'd like to have a word."

Emerald stared at the professor for a moment, pursing her lips. "About what?"

The professor sat down in the chair across the table from her. She folded her hands and leaned forward on the table. "Emerald, I am here to offer you an opportunity."

"An opportunity to get out of going to jail?" Emerald asked.

"I wouldn't say _getting out of_ it." She chuckled. "An alternative to going to jail, one that I believe would be far more beneficial to you."

"And that is?"

"I spoke with some of the officers here, and it is my understanding that you are a serial pickpocket, and that you use a very acute mental hallucinogenic Semblance to trick people so you can steal from them."

Emerald nodded, shrugging. "That's about right."

"Why do you steal from people?" Salem asked.

"I don't want to starve," Emerald responded.

Salem sighed, nodding. "I am sorry for that. It's painful to know what some people have to go through."

Emerald scoffed at this very well-off Academy headmaster lamenting the realities of homelessness. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Emerald," she said. "You do not deserve to go to jail. Of course, you _have_ to. Or..." She reached into her jacket and produced a piece of paper. "As I and the chief of police have discussed, you can take this offer to enroll at Beacon, in lieu of a jail sentence."

Emerald took the piece of paper and read it. _Prohibitory Arrangement_ , it was titled. "You want me to go to a Huntsman Academy instead of going to jail?"

Salem nodded. "A much better option than jail, I would say. Of course, it is required that you attend all required classes and pass, but you will be provided with housing, regular meals, and world class teaching and training from the best Vale has to offer."

Emerald stared at the _Prohibitory Arrangement_ for a few more seconds, then looked back up at the professor. "I can go to Beacon?"

"You have to complete at least one year of instruction," Salem nodded. "Of course, if you would like to stay the full four years and graduate, that would be wonderful."

"And I don't have to go to jail," Emerald asked.

"Exactly."

"Wow," Emerald murmured. "I mean...yes?"

"So you will do it?" Salem asked.

Emerald laughed. "I'd rather go to school than jail."

Salem smiled, extending a hand to Emerald. "Wonderful. I'm happy to welcome you to Beacon."

Emerald shook her hand. "I'm happy...to be given this second chance."

Salem nodded. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Just...be certain to not steal from other students. Third chances are a different story."

Emerald chuckled and nodded. "I promise, I won't steal from anyone." _That's a nice necklace she's wearing._

"I know you won't. Now," Salem stood to her feet. "Would you care to take a tour of the campus?"


End file.
